The Executive in Action : Managing for Results / Innovation and Entrepreneurship / The Effective Executive

by Peter F. Drucker

Three complete Drucker management books in one volume � Managing for Results, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and The Effective Executive with a new preface by the author.

In his preface, Peter F. Drucker says: "These three books should enable executives � whether high up in the organization or just beginning their career
� to know the right things to do;
� to know how to do them; and
� to do them effectively.Together, these three books provide The Toolkit for Executive Action."

Drucker identifies and explains the practices, decisions and priorities for achieving business performance and executive effectiveness. These books cover "the three dimensions of the successful practice of management." Managing for Results was the first book to explain business strategy. Drucker shows how the existing business has to focus on opportunities rather than problems to be effective, for it is the opportunities that will bring growth and performance. Innovation and Entrepreneurship analyzes the challenges and opportunities of America's new entrepreneurial economy. It is a superbly practical book that explains what established businesses, public service institutions and new ventures have to know, learn and do to prepare and create the successful businesses of tomorrow. In The Effective Executive, Drucker discusses the five practices and habits that must be learned for executive effectiveness. Ranging widely through business and government, he demonstrates the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious situations. Together, these three books have sold more than a million copies; they have been published throughout the world and continue to sell actively. These are essential works for the executive and manager by "the dean of this country's business and management philosophers." �Wall Street Journal

Genres: Business, Management, Leadership, Nonfiction, Productivity

736 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 1996

About the author

Peter Ferdinand Drucker was a writer, management consultant and university professor. His writing focused on management-related literature. Peter Drucker made famous the term knowledge worker and is thought to have unknowingly ushered in the knowledge economy, which effectively challenges Karl Marx's world-view of the political economy. George Orwell credits Peter Drucker as one of the only writers to predict the German-Soviet Pact of 1939.

The son of a high level civil servant in the Habsburg empire, Drucker was born in the chocolate capital of Austria, in a small village named Kaasgraben (now a suburb of Vienna, part of the 19th district, Döbling). Following the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I, there were few opportunities for employment in Vienna so after finishing school he went to Germany, first working in banking and then in journalism. While in Germany, he earned a doctorate in International Law. The rise of Nazism forced him to leave Germany in 1933. After spending four years in London, in 1937 he moved permanently to the United States, where he became a university professor as well as a freelance writer and business guru. In 1943 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He taught at New York University as a Professor of Management from 1950 to 1971. From 1971 to his death he was the Clarke Professor of Social Science and Management at Claremont Graduate University.

Reviews

[Paul O'Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're going to dive into Drucker, The Executive In Action offers an optimal place to start. This volume actually offers three books in one: Managing For Results(1964), Innovation and Entrepreneurship(1985), as well as The Effective Executive(1967). The volume offers these books in that order, though I chose to read them chronologically. Why take the "dive"? These are indeed dated works. Peter Drucker, however, is a founding father of business management philosophy(though Albert P Sloan of GM might've felt he was more than a little full of... Well, he felt PD's approach might have been of narrow focus.) This does come out in his works. In a sense, this shortcoming makes for a focused read. Value is determined solely by the customer and what he/she will pay for a product. Problems/limping products should be sliced off without remorse; resources should be allocated upon products capable of attaining "leadership" in a market. Not exactly radical thoughts, but in the 60's it was a radical stance to claim that a business' only concern was producing value capable of maximizing profit. For Drucker, if a business creates a product of value to consumers which they will pay for, this is the sole "social" requirement one should reasonably expect from a business. Drucker's approach is anecdotal. I'm not usually a fan of this method. Too many authors offer a strand of thread and insist they've given you a full garment. I must admit that Drucker's stories were overall enjoyable and to the point. I blush to say, his maxim that an examination of effectiveness should take precedent over efficiency adjusted my views on the purpose of management. What good is efficiency if effectiveness remains faulty? One simply gets to the wrong answer quicker, but with useless waste only marginally ameliorated. Best to avoid it altogether. As I've said, I did read these works in order of publication date. The first book focuses on how one maximizes opportunities for the business as a whole. Drucker's lessons are still valuable. A business must change if it is to thrive in the future, or even continue to exist. The most costly loss a business can suffer is "not doing". Management must be comfortable with crushing the ego(especially its own) so that it doesn't become blind toward any abjectly wasteful investments in the past or empty prestige, no matter how sentimentally regarded. The Effective Executive addresses how one can best exercise his capabilities for the betterment of his company. Drucker is very democratic as to whom he considers an executive to be: "Every knowledge worker in a modern organization is an "executive" if, by virtue of his position or knowledge, he is responsible for a contribution that materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results." In short, every worker not solely of the manual variety might be at times an authentic executive. Drucker does not specifically address the value of the individual employee as a proprietor writ small, though perhaps of much more value than his/her stature might first disclose, but there is a feel throughout this book that any knowledge employee must think and perform effectively. Drucker places an enormous premium on intellectual production which gives his work a very contemporary fell, despite its actual age. Initially, I considered skipping Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Skepticism gave me pause to question how much meat a book from the 80s could offer. I'm glad I put my skepticism aside. Though Drucker takes continuous shots at the tech industry throughout(remember its publication date) for their general appearance of ineffectiveness when it comes to business practices, Drucker focuses on the importance of being open to changes in customer perception. This may sound fairly common sensical, however Drucker means that a business which seeks to dictate the market to potential customers is almost certain to fail. The "facts" of an economy may or may not change, but the perceptions, therefore the needs of a purchasing public are in constant flux. It is the job of an innovating entrepreneur to offer value through creative endeavor to these customers and thereby acquire leadership for his company, for at least the present. Drucker's anecdotes in this book are quite informative and engaging, if of course dated. Obviously there are more modern management manuals out there, yet Drucker's three in one compilation is still well worth a reader's investment.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this awhile ago, but just now cleaning it off my "to-read" shelf in Goodreads. This is a great book that I have actually come back to multiple times. Highly recommended.

[Ilya · Rating 3 out of 5]

While coming off a bit dry and outdated, the book had a lot of really interesting insights. The 2nd book was good, and the 3rd book was especially great, while the 1st wasn't as interesting. Likely would recommend people just read 'The Effective Executive'

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic